This painting, Tolstoy Plowing, 1887, is by the Finnish artist,Ilya Yefimovich Repin. It hangs in The State Tretyakov Gallery
in Moscow. Tolstoy, one of the greatest of all novelists, is fresh
in my mind, from recently reading Song Without Words, the
Photographs and Diaries of Countess Sophia Tolstoy. Even
though a Russian count, he was very much against progress and
society, preferring to tend his land, along with his peasant serfs.
I love the solace of Tolstoy portrayed here, out in the peaceful
field with the scent of fresh damp earth.
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***click on painting to enlarge
This is lovely, Willow...I need to read up on this artist a bit. Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise there was a painting of Tolstoy like this! Great scene. I don't think I could handle reading one of his books--they are sooo long.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great and peaceful picture. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI like this painting and your words with it.
ReplyDeleteThe painting interested me too in that there is a second horse pulling a harrow to break up the clods made by the first horse pulling the plow. That is innovative thinking. I have seen a lot of ground plowed here using horses, steam engines and tractors but never saw a harrow or disc following the plow. That is usually always done on another day when it makes a lot of sense to do it all at the same time.
Mmmmm... another tempting book recommendation, it sounds very intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI am such a slow reader this year, but Anna Karenina is one of my favourites.
This looked like a photograph until I enlarged it and was able to see the brush strokes. Very powerful image.
ReplyDeleteI haven't yet read the book...
Rebecca, sorry I forgot to add the link to Repin! It's there now. WT love's his painting "Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of Turkey" and has a large print.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful painting...the colors and light in it are perfect! Talented artists amaze me....those horses look very real!
ReplyDeleteWondeful painting! Such detail in it that almost makes it appear as a photograph. One of my proudest achievements when I was young was to read all of War & Peace! Anna Karenina was definitely more enjoyable to read.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed my little lower Manhattan tour --I blogged more extensively about many places in the area in March. The two chruches in the are are wonderfully historic.
Willow...You know..I could have gotten along well with Tolstoy... there's just something comforting about the old ways... I like that Tolstoy didn't feel he was any better than his serfs. I love how you described the painting Willow...out in the peaceful field with the sent of fresh damp earth...such a beautiful post....
ReplyDelete"Me thinks thee a writer"..
Oh my Willow, this is simply gorgeous. Abraham lincoln how observant, I will have to point this out to my husband, he will find that very fascinating.
ReplyDeleteAbe, WT, who is an old Kansas boy, noticed the harrow, too. That was his first comment about the painting! Interesting point.
ReplyDeleteThe posts are instructive and and mind expanding, but the comments section is where you really learn the little nuances. Thanks for dealing with the finer things in life. I think roto-tillers do both functions don't they? :)
ReplyDeleteTolstoy and Thoreau would have had a great deal to talk about wouldn't they? They would have gotten along famously. Count me among those who didn't know that Tolstoy had his portrait painted..albeit in a unique way, portraying him doing what he loved. He was onto something...preferring to tend the land and being against progress. Our planet would be a much cleaner, healthier place if there were more Tolstoys among us, wouldn't you say?
ReplyDeleteWillow, I've had the best time reading all about Ilya Repin and taking a look at all of his paintings on Olga's Gallery. I'd never visited this art website before. It is fantastic. I've bookmarked it for lots of future browsing. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHello Willow.. what a find :) I love this.. a Finnish artist and a Russian peasant painting - right up my street! Thank you :) You do find the most interesting things... I went to the Tretyakov gallery on a school trip some years ago... but don't remember this :)
ReplyDeleteYour blog is full of such a wealth of inspiring things... Hope you're well and happy... :) Rima
Was going to say Tolstoy was an aristocrat. And here he is - not proud - doing peasant's work.
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